


Her Greatest Fear

by h_nb



Series: Phoebe [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Disappearing, Fear, Grieving, Kidnapped, Loss, Parent-Child Relationship, Spiders, Whump, Whumptober 2020, mourning loved one, powers, scientists - Freeform, sorry phoebe :(, survivor's guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:41:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27107398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/h_nb/pseuds/h_nb
Summary: Whumptober Day Nineteen: Grief / Mourning Loved One / Survivor's Guilt
Relationships: Phoebe Edwards (OC) & Leo Edwards (OC)
Series: Phoebe [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1954471
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Her Greatest Fear

Phoebe sat on the metal bench that faced the playground, keeping one eye on Leo as he explored the playground, clambering up stairs and jumping across bridges and sliding down swirling slides. She smiled and waved at him as he called for her to watch him, and she did, and he continued to run around.

On the other side of the bench, another mother sat, fondly watching her own child run around. The two of them talked, and Phoebe was able to keep most of everything at bay, compartmentalized into specific slots, no intense fears coming from the others in this space that were overwhelming her. Sure, they were certainly there, that was unavoidable, but Phoebe had gotten better, over these years, at compartmentalizing these things that rushed into her mind without her permission and of taking control of how she received them. The two kids ran around the playground structure, giggling and chattering and calling excitedly to their respective parents.

Until the giggling stopped, and there was a shrill scream from the young girl with blond hair, and she came running to her mother with tears in her eyes, words barely understandable through her cries. Phoebe instantly sucked in a sharp breath to hide a flinch, unable to stop the words from leaving her lips. "She found a spider."

There was a quick look from the mother beside her, but her attention was mostly focused on her daughter, and Phoebe's eyebrows raised as she caught another spike of fear and aversion mixing in with the spider. She was afraid of Leo.

As if on cue, Leo wandered out from behind the structure, something cupped in his small hands. "Mama!" he called, eyes lit up in joy. "I got a spider!"

The blonde kid squeaked and buried her head in her mother's arms, who just looked concerned as she tried to understand her daughter's tearful rambling. Phoebe stood and walked over to her son, crouching down and motioning for him to show her what was in his hand. Leo grinned and opened his hands to a large spider that started to crawl its way over his hands, and Phoebe took a deep breath. "Can you maybe put that down, baby? I don't think your new friend likes spiders as much as you do."

"But I made it for her," Leo stated proudly, holding the spider a little closer to Phoebe's face like she couldn't see it in front of her.

Phoebe's eyes widened, and her heart rate started to pick up. "You- what do you mean, Leo?"

"She was- she was thinking about, spiders, because there was a little one and so I, I, made one!"

Phoebe sighed in confusion. "You mean you picked one up to show her?"

"No, Mama, I thought about the spider, because she was, and then I, and then there was one in my hand, but she started crying, so I, uh, I have a spider!"

"Yeah, I don't think she liked that, honey. Can you put the spider... away?" Phoebe's mind spun, not sure how to make sense of what her son was saying.

"Uh... I don't know how."

"That's... that's okay. Why don't you just put it down and we'll... we'll go get some ice cream, okay?"

Those were magic words for the small boy, who instantly dropped the spider to the ground and took Phoebe's hand. Phoebe waved a goodbye to the other mom with an apologetic smile, mind preoccupied by what her son had just revealed to her.

This wasn't the last time it happened. Phoebe took her son out every so often, for the things you normally did: grocery shopping, the park, to a movie. But where her son went, more incidents occurred. When Phoebe encountered someone who was scared of the dark, suddenly the lights around them would go out. Where there was someone afraid of mice, suddenly one would be wriggling out of Leo's pocket, onto the floor. These incidents happened, and continued to grow, and Phoebe was scared for her son.

She tried to keep it under wraps with stammering excuses and apologies best she could, and hoped it would be enough. The

And then, they approached.

They said they could help, they could test him to figure out his powers, they could help Phoebe learn to deal with a child with this kind of power. Community support, they said. Financial support, they promised.

Phoebe went, at a loss for what else to do, exhausted from trying to manage Leo's abilities and her own every time they left the apartment. She signed the forms, reading them over as carefully as she could with a young child babbling endless questions in her ear, and after a tight hug, a kiss on the forehead, and an "I love you", she reluctantly allowed Leo to be led away from her. Phoebe then sat in the clinically cold room for hours, waiting for her son to return.

When the door opened again, it was a different doctor, and Leo was nowhere in sight. Phoebe listened for the sound of her excitable son, but could hear nothing.

"Ms. Edwards?" The man was tall, with salt and pepper hair and a trimmed beard. He looked at her severely, like he was constantly scrutinizing her.

Phoebe inhaled slowly, and exhaled. "Yes?" she responded politely, biting her tongue to keep from instantly asking about Leo. Her foot tapped lightly on the ground.

"I'm... sorry to say that we're going to need to keep Leo here for a little longer." The doctor hardly sounded sympathetic, Phoebe could almost see the hint of a smile in his otherwise grave face.

"What... do you mean, no, where is Leo? Where's my son?" Phoebe stood, heart already starting to race with suspicions that felt like they were unfortunately being confirmed.

"He's going to be staying with us for a little while. He's too dangerous to be left... unsupervised."

"Unsupervised?" Phoebe repeated incredulously, walking closer to the doctor. Her . "He's _my_ son, I am perfectly capable of taking care of him. Bring him back, I'm gonna take him home."

"You won't be doing that, Ms. Edwards." As the doctor spoke, Phoebe realized too late that she had never gotten his name. "Rest assured, you will be getting a healthy compensation for what you've given to us."

"Given?" Phoebe yelled. "I didn't _give_ anything to you, give me my son back right now. I'll call the police, I'll--"

"You won't." He spoke with complete confidence, certainty and arrogance wrapped up in his smooth-sounding tone. "Even if you did, they wouldn't be able to do anything."

"Give me my son back." Phoebe's voice shook, she was all too aware of the way her hands shook with barely restrained power, she could tell that her voice was amplified ever so slightly. Images flashed in her minds, she knew they were the fears of those around her and she shoved them out, bouncing them back to whoever was within this radius that her abilities extended to.

The doctor's face barely flickered, and he whipped out a tablet, typing something on it. "We'll contact you when your son's testing is done." Phoebe's jaw clenched at the blatant insincerity. "Now, you're going to leave or we will have you removed from the premises."

"You- can't do this, you can't just take my son from me! I'm his mother!"

A small smile did crack on the man's face, and his tone was now of mocking sympathy. "It's only another day of tests, Ms. Edwards. No need to get hysterical."

"Then I'll stay." Phoebe said stubbornly, heart beating in her throat. "I'll stay until I see him again."

"I'm afraid that can't happen." He stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Phoebe's back and began to move her out of the room. "I really have to insist that you leave, we have a lot to get done before the facility shuts down for the night."

"Let _go_ of me," Phoebe snapped, turning and brushing the man's arm off her back. "Where did you take him."

The man sighed in condescension, opening his tablet again. He held it in front of Phoebe's eyes, and it was what seemed to be a live camera, of Leo in a bright playroom, playing with a wide expanse of toys. "There we go, see? Your son is fine, we just need to run some tests that will take overnight observation."

Phoebe's head spun, the man's words clashing with what he had previously been said. "You said- I had _given_ him to you, that's not- I'll see him tomorrow, right?" Her voice cracked, ever so slightly. She wasn't sure why she still felt like crying. Why this felt like saying goodbye.

"Of course," he said. "You're welcome back tomorrow once the facility opens up again."

"Am I really?" Phoebe whispered, more to herself in confusion than anything else, barely aware of how she was being led to the door she had entered from.

"Goodnight, Ms. Edwards." The cold night air bit at her skin, and when Phoebe turned, the door had already slammed shut.

"No, no, no," Phoebe murmured, tugging at the handle. It didn't give. Phoebe stumbled back, arms clutched around herself, eyes wide and heart racing. "No, he's- I'll be back tomorrow, I'll be back--" Her voice broke off in a sob, shuddering as the late fall air whipped around her.

Somehow, Phoebe got back in her car and drove back home.

The house was so quiet without her rambunctious son around, her most beloved person, the only thing for her that was as certain as the sun rising. And he was gone, and the apartment empty save for her sitting at the couch, waiting for the hours to pass by.

Phoebe was up the next morning, already having called off work, already having downed two cups of coffee to attempt to make up for how little she had slept. Phoebe clenched her steering wheel as she drove, and that sinking in her gut she had felt when she drove away last night had gotten no better. She tried to reassure herself as she made the turns as directed and changed lanes to get on the right path, she reassured herself that she would be let back into the building and she would be able to see Leo and get help and everything would be _fine_.

She pulled up to a building in a parking lot devoid of cars, with no windows lit, no sign of activity. She was out of the car as soon as it was parked, nearly running up to the door. She yanked on it, and managed to pull the locked door open, slamming it against the wall. Phoebe stepped inside to complete darkness. There was no trace of people or equipment to be seen in this desolate hallway.

Phoebe ran through it all, exploring every room she could find, despair growing with every passing second. They had to be here, somewhere, her baby had to be here somewhere, he couldn't be gone, he was _here, he had to be, he couldn't be gone--_

The building was effectively a circle, and eventually Phoebe came to a halt in front of the open door she had entered from. She stood there, frozen for a long moment, before dropping to her knees, covering her mouth to muffle the sobs that she couldn't stop. Hot tears ran over her hands as her body convulsed in emotional agony, staring at the floor like it would open up and show her the answers, or maybe just swallow her whole.

She wanted to scream. She might have.

When she became aware of herself again, the sun was sinking in the sky. Phoebe stood on shaking legs, feeling entirely hollowed out, emptied completely. There was nothing here, in this building or in her. She didn't remember driving home.

There was nothing. There would never be anything, no more Leo running around the kitchen while she made lunch, begging to help cook the mac and cheese. No more movie nights of watching the same two movies endlessly so Leo could babble the songs along with the characters. Nothing.

 _And it was her fault_.

She had taken him to that place, she had let him be led away, she had so foolishly assumed the best, and now her greatest fear, the loss of her child, had come to fruition.

There were no more tears to wash over Phoebe as she stood in the doorway of her empty apartment, but still another round of uncontrollable sobs shook her as guilt took its permanent hold in her chest, where her heart had once resided. 


End file.
